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Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

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Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#111

Post by EdwinLarkin »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #104
kalenx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Setting up a cycle lane in place is cheap, but not easy (at least in North America, people will always complain about the "war on cars"). Also, setting up a good cycle lane can be more expensive than you think. If you have a nice bike lane that spreads over 5 km but there's a 200 meters gap in it because of a bridge which was too narrow to keep the bike path, then you don't have a nice lane at all.

I've never understood why bicyclists can't just use the sidewalk for most of the commute. I get that it becomes impractical in dense areas where people are actually walking but most of the roads I travel along have vacant sidewalks.

Depends how walkable the city is.The more walkable it is the more people you will see on the sidewalk.Sidewalks are for pedestrians not for fast moving vehicles.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#112

Post by estebank »

jtdev wrote: post #74
cameronh90 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

15 miles is not that far. 45 minutes with a US (20MPH) e-bike. Average commute is 30 mins each way. And that's time you don't have to spend at the gym now.

You going to shower at work? How do you get your kids to school? Are you going to put them on the handlebars?

https://www.google.com/search?q=dutch+children+bike&source=l...

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#113

Post by VBprogrammer »

maccard wrote: post #76
leifg wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- the commute is sufficiently flat

It's not really a requirement. I live in Edinburgh, and cycle to work in a hilly city over icy cobblestones .

Edinburgh is so compact that you can practically walk everywhere. I frequently did when I lived there.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#114

Post by Aerroon »

agumonkey wrote: post #56
jedberg wrote: post #35

Switching from gas to electric is something I can do all on my own. Switching from gas car to cycling is something that would require major investments from my city and developers. Both are noble goals, but let's not let perfect be the enemy of good. Switch to electric now, and also encourage new roads and new developments to be bike friendly, so that switching to a bike is something that will be viable in 20 or 30 y…

Hey, without cars we would need no lanes.

What do you do in winter? Or during rain?

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#115

Post by 5555624 »

jtdev wrote: post #11

Cycling to/from work, grocery stores, etc. is completely infeasible for 6 months of the year in approximately 1/3 of the United States. In addition to seasonal infeasibility, much of the U.S. is rural... good luck commuting 15 miles each way to work.

>is completely infeasible for 6 months of the year in approximately 1/3 of the United States

Why? Because of winter? They make cold weather gear for cycling. You can even buy rechargeable, heated gloves. You can buy studded tires, as well.

I had a year-round, 10 mile, each way, commute for 19 years, in temperatures ranging from 0F to 100F. (Humidity, raising the Heat Index over 100, is far worse than the cold.)

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#116

Post by jtdev »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #104
kalenx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Setting up a cycle lane in place is cheap, but not easy (at least in North America, people will always complain about the "war on cars"). Also, setting up a good cycle lane can be more expensive than you think. If you have a nice bike lane that spreads over 5 km but there's a 200 meters gap in it because of a bridge which was too narrow to keep the bike path, then you don't have a nice lane at all.

I've never understood why bicyclists can't just use the sidewalk for most of the commute. I get that it becomes impractical in dense areas where people are actually walking but most of the roads I travel along have vacant sidewalks.

You know how many in the cycling movement view automobiles as being fast, dangerous, machines clogging up the roads? Many pedestrians view cyclists as a similar fast, dangerous (often rude and inconsiderate) presence on the sidewalk.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#117

Post by verbify »

CabSauce wrote: post #10

That's great. Assuming the following: - Your commute is sufficiently short - You have facilities to shower and dress at work - You have sufficient time to shower and dress at work - You don't have to bring kids or sizable cargo - Weather is sufficiently good - You're sufficiently healthy

Electric bikes mitigate some of your concerns.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#118

Post by ab111111111 »

CabSauce wrote: post #10

That's great. Assuming the following: - Your commute is sufficiently short - You have facilities to shower and dress at work - You have sufficient time to shower and dress at work - You don't have to bring kids or sizable cargo - Weather is sufficiently good - You're sufficiently healthy

Not insurmountable issues, in my experience:

- Your commute is sufficiently short (I managed a 30k round trip every day at my last job. Took about 45 minutes each way.)

- You have facilities to shower and dress at work (I was lucky enough to have this, but some people who don't use e-bikes to avoid arriving as a sweaty mess)

- You have sufficient time to shower and dress at work (Say 15 minutes? Is that really a major issue? Just think of all the time you're saving by exercising and commuting at the same time.)

- You don't have to bring kids or sizable cargo (I've got a kid's bike trailer and a kid's bike seat to take my kids to Kindergarten on the way to work)

- Weather is sufficiently good (I live in Germany. I get by. When there's deep fresh snow I don't cycle, the rest of the time it's fine.)

- You're sufficiently healthy (Cycling's a great way to get sufficiently healthy.)

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#119

Post by cameronh90 »

xhkkffbf wrote: post #6

Cycling is wonderful and I've lived with only a bike and no car at least three times in my adult life. But cycling just isn't going to work in many, many cases. Large parts of the population are too old, too infirm or handicapped in some way to make it more than a few blocks. Yes, some could be forced to lose some weight and get in better shape, but that's not going to work for many people with chronic conditions. Th…

Bikes are unlikely to replace every use case, however for many people, they can replace a significant chunk of their travel.

In the USA, 60% of all vehicle trips were less than 6 miles - which is a perfectly cyclable distance for the majority of people. With pannier racks, it is completely feasible to cycle with groceries.

Weather and danger is for sure a problem, but better urban planning can make this much less of an issue. Provide incentives for employers to offer showers. The whole point of this article is that cycling is a great thing for carbon footprint so it deserves investment to fix the reasons why people feel unable to cycle.

Obviously push cycles are not a panacea. If you live somewhere very hilly, you might need an e-bike. If you live in the suburbs, you might cycle to a train station and continue your journey by train. If you live somewhere rural, you almost certainly still will need to own a car for part of your transport needs. But I cycled about ten thousand miles on my last £300 bicycle over a few years (now upgraded to an e-bike), which saved me a ton of money, improved my health and reduced congestion/pollution for everyone else.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#120

Post by abrowne »

acwan93 wrote: post #69

There's a demonization of cyclists in general if you live in an American city. Until this stigma goes away, which will usher in infrastructure and mentality changes, this will not occur. City councils believe cycling is recreational, not for commuting or for "real" use. I mentioned this about getting my LA suburb to actually embrace Class II bike lanes previously, and there's simply no political will. Simply put, it'…

Depends on the city? Minneapolis-St. Paul has ok cycling infrastructure for North America that certainly could be improved, but I don't see a negative attitude
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